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What makes for compatible solar?
American Farmland Trust’s New England Climate and Agriculture Program Manager and soil scientist Emily Cole, and Blue Wave’s Development/Senior Director Drew Pierson, team up to talk about what is needed to make solar projects compatible with—and benefit from—farmland viability.
If you are interested in how to slow down climate change and help agriculture, this webinar could be helpful. This is the second in a three-part series. While the webinar is focused on New England, the concepts of design, strategy, and partnerships are applicable to other parts of the country.
6 ways to be antiracist, because being ‘not racist’ isn’t enough
“One cannot strive to be antiracist without action, and Kendi says that one way to act is by supporting organizations in your community that are fighting policies that create racial disparities. You can volunteer for or fund those organizations. Kendi also recommends using one’s power or getting into a position of power to change racist policies in any setting where they exist—school, work, government, and so on. The point is to commit to some form of action that has the potential to change racist policies…”
I’m a black climate expert. Racism derails our efforts to save the planet.
‘The very serious function of racism…is distraction. It keeps you from doing your work. It keeps you explaining, over and over again, your reason for being.’
Johnson goes on to say, “As a marine biologist and policy nerd, building community around climate solutions is my life’s work. But I’m also a black person in the United States of America. I work on one existential crisis, but these days I can’t concentrate because of another.
People of color disproportionately bear climate impacts, from storms to heatwaves to pollution. Fossil-fueled power plants and refineries are disproportionately located in black neighborhoods, leading to poor air quality and putting people at higher risk for coronavirus…Look, I would love to ignore racism and focus all my attention on climate. But I can’t. Because I am human. And I’m black. And ignoring racism won’t make it go away…”
George Floyd’s memorial and funeral services will take place in Minneapolis, Houston, and North Carolina
Services honoring George Floyd, who died while being arrested in Minneapolis, will take place in three states over the course of six days…
Fire and ice: Why volcanic activity is not melting the polar ice sheets
There are many places on Earth where fire meets ice. Volcanoes located in high-latitude regions are frequently snow- and ice-covered. In recent years, some have speculated that volcanic activity could be playing a role in the present-day loss of ice mass from Earth’s polar ice sheets in Greenland and Antarctica. But does the science support that idea?
How improving soil health can help farmers adapt to extreme weather
Heavy rain can wash topsoil off farm fields. Droughts can leave crops withering in the sun. But improving soil health can help farmers adapt to extreme weather.
Healthy soil absorbs and holds more water, so farms can better withstand droughts and floods. Jennifer Moore-Kucera of the American Farmland Trust says healthy soil also stores more carbon, which helps slow global warming…
CMIP6: the next generation of climate models explained
“Climate models are one of the primary means for scientists to understand how the climate has changed in the past and may change in the future. These models simulate the physics, chemistry and biology of the atmosphere, land and oceans in great detail, and require some of the largest supercomputers in the world to generate their climate projections…”
Just how hot will it get this century? It’s worse than we thought
Climate scientists use mathematical models to project the Earth’s future under a warming world, but a group of the latest models have included unexpectedly high values for a measure called “climate sensitivity.”
But the new climate sensitivity values raise the question of whether previous climate modelling has underestimated potential climate change and its effects, or whether the new models are overdoing things.
If the high estimate is right, this would require the world to make greater and more urgent emission cuts to meet any given warming target…
The Right Thing To Do: Conservatives for Climate Action Hearing
Watch the Senate Democrats’ Special Committee on the Climate Crisis who will hear from republicans who support climate action…
Frank Luntz, the GOP’s message master, calls for climate action
Luntz, whose advice helped Republicans hold power for years and also keep their heads in the sand when it comes to climate change, cited the fire as an example of the climate crisis made personal. He’s the same political consultant who convinced conservatives to rebrand the “estate tax” as the “death tax.” He crafted talking points for the Koch brothers and reportedly convinced the Trump administration to talk about “border security” to drum up support for building a border wall.
But the reality of climate change is increasingly too hard to ignore. “The courageous firefighters of L.A., they saved my home, but others aren’t so lucky,” he said as he recounted the tale during a Senate testimony… “Rising sea levels, melting ice caps, tornadoes, and hurricanes more ferocious than ever. It is happening…”